Heat warning continues for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Sunday, July 18, 2010 | 6:37 a.m.

Las Vegas will simmer under another day of very hot temperatures above 110 degrees and unusually high humidity, according to the National Weather Service.

"The combination of hot temperatures and higher than normal humidity will combine to create a dangerous situation in which heat exhaustion and heat stroke are possible," the weather service said in its Excessive Heat Warning statement.

The weather service recommends drinking plenty of water, staying in an air-conditioned room, staying out of the sun and checking up on relatives and neighbors.

The heat warning remains in effect until 9 p.m. today for elevations below 4,000 feet across the Mohave Desert, including the Las Vegas Valley, forecasters said.

The hottest temperatures will occur from late this morning through this evening, with the warmest readings being along the Colorado River Valley and Death Valley National Park, the weather service said.

Temperatures are expected to climb this afternoon to highs of 108 to 115 degrees in the Las Vegas Valley, around 112 degrees at Pahrump and Barstow, 115 to 118 degrees from Mesquite south down the Colorado River Valley to Lake Havasu City, 122 to 125 degrees at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park and 104 to 106 degrees at Kingman.

Temperatures will be cooler in the mountains, where there is a chance for rain. Mount Charleston's high will be near 86 degrees today, with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m., forecasters said.

Forecasters said a strong area of high pressue will keep hot temperatures over the region through the first half of the week.

They said there will be a slight chance of thunderstorms over Mohave County and the mountains of southern Nevada today, then mainly over Mohave County during the remainder of the week.

Saturday's official high at McCarran International Airport was 112 degrees at 2:57 p.m., which was 4 degrees below the record high of 116 degrees for that date, set in 2005.

At 5:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran was 92 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 79 degrees. The record low was 59 degrees, set in 1940.

Around the valley just before 6 a.m., temperatures were 87 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 89 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 90 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures at McCarran were to rise today to 99 degrees by 9 a.m., to 108 degrees by noon and reach a high of 113 degrees by 3 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 105 degrees and the record high was 116 degrees, set in 2005.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 111 degrees by 6 p.m., to 105 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 100 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Monday's morning low will be 92 degrees and Monday's high will climb to 111 degrees, they said.